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The Sage Group plc audited results for the year ended 30 September 2012

Delivering on our strategy

Financial highlights

Organic# revenue growth of 2%* in the year (2011:
4%*), with 6%* growth in subscription revenue (2011: 5%*growth) and
5%* contraction in software and software-related service revenue
(2011: 3%* growth)

Organic revenue growth of 3%* in H2 compared to 2%* in H1
demonstrates improved momentum, particularly in North America

Proposed final dividend of 6.67p per share (2011: 7.07p per
share), resulting in a total dividend for the year of 10.15p per
share (2011: 9.75p per share), an increase of 4%

£299.8m returned to shareholders in the year through share
buyback programme, supporting good progress towards capital
structure target with net debt of £161.5m at 30 September 2012 (30
September 2011: £24.9m)

Delivering on our strategy

Good progress made with our three cornerstones to drive
accelerated growth:

Focusing our business: disposal of Sage Healthcare; established
a significant presence in Brazil; resource allocation programme to
drive investment in growth; R&D centralised in three largest
markets

The benefits of subscription: continued good progress with
premium support; launch of subscription pricing options in North
America, Europe and South Africa

Strength of our offering to new and existing customers
continues with the addition of 289,000 (2011: 261,000) new paying
customers during the year and renewal rate on support contracts
maintained at 81%

Guy Berruyer, Chief Executive, said:
“We delivered a solid performance in the context of a
macro-economic environment which remained difficult in most of our
markets. We achieved strong growth in recurring revenue and focused
on disciplined resource allocation, protecting margins at the same
time as investing for growth. We are committed to driving strategic
change and I am pleased with the momentum we have established with
our growth initiatives. A feature of the year has been the variable
trading performance by geography.

Europe’s performance reflected good growth by the UK and
Germany, offset by the impact of weaker markets in France and
Spain. North America delivered the anticipated improvement in the
second half of the year while AAMEA continued to deliver very
strong growth. As we look forward, the global macro-economic
outlook remains uncertain and we are watchful of the environment in
Europe, particularly in France. We are making good progress with
our strategy for accelerating growth and remain confident we will
continue to deliver on our strategic and financial goals.”

#Organic figures exclude the contributions of
current and prior year acquisitions, disposals and non-core
products.

An analyst presentation will be held at 8.45am today at Deutsche
Bank, Winchester House, 1 Great Winchester Street, London EC2N
2DB.

A live webcast of the presentation will be hosted on
www.investors.sage.com, dial-in number +44 (0)20 3140 0668, pin
code: 233217#. A replay of the call will also be available for two
weeks after the event: Tel: +44 (0)20 3140 0698, pin code:
388138#.

The Sage Group plc will today publish its Annual Report &
Accounts for the year ended 30 September 2012 on the Company’s
website at www.investors.sage.com.